Things at the moment

My life seems to have phases, things come in blocks, so a particular series or fascination with something or coincidences whether good or bad.

This has been the summer of watching The Handmaid's Tale. I rarely watch television, but this series looked interesting and so I am watching it online and await each episode eagerly with a relish I remember from my younger years when Lost or Twin Peaks were favourite. It's based on a book by Margaret Atwood, admittedly I have not read it. I do have a copy of one of her other books Oryx and Crake so on the back of this series and its great story line, I think I will give it a whirl. The Handmaid's Tale is gripping and following the main protagonist, June/ Offred and life in a dystopian USA where a totalitarian government has take over and the main gist of it is that only some of the woman are still fertile, the Handmaids and they are sold as slaves of reproduction to the wealthy families. Really worth catching up with on Channel 4 or read the book as I'm told it is amazing.

Sadly this summer seems to be a lot about cancer. It's rarely touched on my life before and yet this summer I have people that I know who are bravely battling the disease. Indeed my poor little dog is too. I can't begin to imagine how life changing it is for a person and the ladies that I know, I have so much respect for their strength. I've heard their words around chemotherapy and how poorly it makes them feel. One of the ladies was trying to perk herself up, wearing a pretty chemo hat, having pampering sessions and going out for lunch on the days she felt ok. It must be just so hard to keep going and I have huge admiration and hope for them to recover soon.

This summer has also started a rosé wine / white wine and soda drinking phase for me. I wasn't really drinking so perhaps it is the studies but it is rather nice to have a cool glass of wine on a sunny day or evening. Also olives have sneaked back into my life, tubs of them in olive oil, with feta cheese and stuffed with pimentos. 

Also I have become mad on roses. I bought two from the market at Ludlow for £6.50 each, a large buttery yellow one called Absolutely Fabulous and an interesting striped pink rose called Ferdinand Pitchard. Both are heavily scented and will be going into a new flower border.
Then my neighbour popped over with some pretty roses in a jam jar from a wedding so that was really nice gift and I put it on the mantelpiece. So roses, roses everywhere! Next year I will have more in the garden so I can cut more to bring inside and fill the house with their scent.

*Collaborative post